


A Question For Grumbot

by Black_Narwhal



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grian is completely oblivious, Grumbot gives bad answers, Little bit of angst, M/M, Mostly Canon Compliant, Mumbo doesn't like emotions, Mumbo is Confused, Mumbo misunderstands, So he asks Grumbot for help, Some bad emotions present, Someone does cry, Someone please help this clueless idiot, but it is a happy ending, mumbo is such a spoon, no beta we die like men, only difference is there's a ship, seriously someone please help him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:47:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24837943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Narwhal/pseuds/Black_Narwhal
Summary: Mumbo has some really weird emotions that he doesn't understand and isn't sure what to do about, but maybe his super-intelligent AI has some answers.
Relationships: Mumbo Jumbo/Grian
Comments: 8
Kudos: 183





	A Question For Grumbot

**Author's Note:**

> A story in which Mumbo is bad at emotions, Grumbot is bad at answers, and Grian is just vibing
> 
> Also, I want to thank @Not_Smart for their help as someone to bounce ideas off of!

As the sun began to set behind Grumbot’s platform, the colours reflecting off of his metal to create a sight that many a hermit had come to enjoy, one said hermit touched down right in front. Mumbo regained his balance from his slightly shaky landing and looked up at the machine he and Grian created, a smile coming to his face as he thought of the short builder, but he quickly shook it away. Mumbo had a plan and he needed to get to it.

He took off his elytra and set down his ender chest, putting the pair of wings into the magical chest. He then pulled out the shulker box that held his diamonds, setting it down and peeking inside at the very small amount that he had, desperately hoping it would be enough to get the answer that he wanted from Grumbot. But, he wouldn’t know until he tried. Pulling out the first diamond he went over to the anvils and took a shaky breath.

“Should I really be doing this?” He wondered to himself, this isn’t what they had made Grumbot for, and the robot had always been super unreliable in the past…” ah what the hell, might as well give it a shot” he mumbled, taking up the chisel and engraving the first message.

What should I do?

Vague, and a question the two of them had asked before, but Grumbot was intuitive, so maybe he’d get lucky and get a real answer. Mumbo then went over and placed the diamond in, primed Grumbot, boot loaded the brain, hesitated on flooding the mayoral reservoirs because he honestly wasn’t sure how helpful they’d be in this situation, but decided they were necessary. However, he paused before hitting the last button. The war in his head about something so small and harmless, it’s not like Grian would ever know, right? He kept going back and forth before finally forcing himself to press the button.

He ran back and stared as Grumbots thinking music began to play, the pit of dread rapidly swelling, “What if the answer is something I can’t do, or not related? What am I going to do to hide the paper if I can do it? Do I just burn it? I can’t let Grian find it if it’s related I might just d-” his thoughts were interrupted by a paper being spit out. He looked up and there was no emotion on Grumbot’s face. “Well that’s got to be something, right?” He let out a nervous giggle to himself before sprinting over to the paper. He scooped it up and read the sentence written over and over before it set in.

Mumbo For Mayor

He groaned and crushed the paper against his face. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course that wouldn’t work! And here you were getting worried over nothing!” He yelled into the sky at no one in particular except himself. For a minute, he just sat there, paper crumpled in his hand as he stared at the sky, processing the answer from the machine. Suddenly he jumped back up and ran over to grab another diamond, rushing to engrave another sentence.

What should I do about Grian?

Just this slight amount of admittance scared him more, his heart fluttering as he thought of all the possible things Grumbot could suggest for him to do. “Mumbo, you spoon, why do you keep asking if you’re so scared?” He thought to himself, “Well, just because I’m scared doesn’t mean I don’t want answers, this stupid little cru-” He stopped his train of thought, he couldn’t even think it or else it would really seem real, but this silly thing had been eating up at him for so long now, and he really just wanted to know what to do. He was brought back to the current moment by the sound of Grumbot’s acceptance beep, again quickly checking for emotion but there again being none. He then ran over to the paper to read Grumbot’s answer.

Mumbo For Mayor

He was going to kill this robot, he didn’t know how, TnT could work, he wondered if he could borrow some from Grian, but his thoughts quickly stopped as a blush spread onto his face at the thought of going to talk to Grian. “We are friends! Nothing more than that!” He muttered as he ran his hand through his hair, messing it up and just leaving it that way, “There should be no reason whatsoever that I should be reacting this way.” Despite this, the blush wouldn’t go away as he wrote his next message.

What should I say to Grian?

He waited, got the same response.

Mumbo For Mayor

Over and over, wasting more and more diamonds on messages like What should I do for Grian? and Should I talk to Grian? or What should I tell Grian? and many, many more, having wasted so many Diamonds on silly, vague messages, only to get Mumbo For Mayor in return. He sighed to himself as he crushed another paper that read that same sentence, adding it to the pile that now surrounded the drop area. Mumbo knew what he had to do, the only way he would get a proper answer was to ask the proper question.

As he stood up he felt his stomach drop, how was he supposed to do this? He could barely admit the fact to himself that he had a cru- nope, still can’t, but how was he supposed to write it! He grabbed the next diamond, grimacing at how much lower that number was than when he had first arrived, but hoping that this’ll be the last one he’d have to spend on this stupid robot.

Walking over to the anvil, he felt himself begin to sweat, was it hot tonight or was it just him? Was he really going to go through with this? What if somehow Grian found out? Could Grumbot tell him? Oh goodness, what if Grumbot tells Grian! Can he tell Grian? Is it worth it to risk it? Oh goodness...maybe he should just do it anyway. Mumbo then sucked in a breath, held it, and chiseled out his message into the Diamond.

What should I do about my crush on Grian? 

He laughed to himself as he read the sentence over and over, having finally actually written it out and admitted to himself that he had a crush on the builder. He felt butterflies in his stomach as heat swelled to his face, oh goodness he really had a crush on Grian, didn’t he? His mind raced as he went and did everything for this hopefully last question, mulling over the fact that this was real and he actually admitted it to himself.

As the night continued to fall, the sound of rockets being spammed broke through the silence over the shopping district. Grian stuck the landing on top of X and Keralis’ concrete shop, sitting down and staring out across the cowmoocial district at the setting sun, it really was a lovely sight. Eventually, his eyes landed on Grumbot as he noticed the moustache move. “Huh, weird, no one should be using Grumbot right now…” he mumbled to himself as he saw the angry eyes flash, giggling as he wondered what poor hermit just got a bad response from the robot. Deciding to go check, Grian pulled himself up from his seated position and jumped off, activating his elytra and igniting a rocket, hoping to get there in only one or two as to be stealthy.

As he approached, familiar shouts could be heard from the platform.

“No, no, no, no, no! There has to be something else! That can’t be the answer!” Mumbo yelled at the robot, pacing back and forth, stopping with his back to the machine. Grian touched down softly, seeing the pile of crumpled up papers and one thrown especially far away from the rest. He snuck over to the pile as his moustached friend continued to mutter to himself and began to unravel them, all of them appearing to say Mumbo for Mayor on them. He then scooted over to the paper that had clearly been thrown away from the rest. Grain unfurled it and his breath caught as he read the words on the paper.

Tell him!

Tell who what? That was all Grain was thinking. What question could cause Mumbo to waste so many diamonds just to get the simple answer of Tell him! He then noticed that Mumbo’s muttering had stopped, and as he looked up he found Mumbo staring at him, wide-eyed with shock and fear coating his face. Grian only saw one logical option in this situation.

“Tell who what, Mumbo?” He asked, confusion rising as Mumbo flushed automatically, small sounds coming out of his mouth but completely unable to form words. Grian giggled at his stuttering friend, getting up and walking over to him. “What is wrong, Mumbo? Oh, and what did you do to your hair!” Grian exclaimed, noticing how his hair was now hanging over his forehead and into his eyes, and while admittedly he did look cute a little disheveled he knew Mumbo would beat himself up for it later.

Grian walked right up to Mumbo and got on his tiptoes as he began to fix his hair, tousling it and trying to get it to lay in its normal position. Mumbo just about short-circuited. If it was possible for him to get any redder than he already was he did exactly that as he went shock still as Grian ran his hands through his hair. As Grian stepped back to admire his handwork, his hand landing on his hip as he wondered if it was good enough he noticed Mumbo’s shocked state.

“What is going on with you today?” Grian said, meeting Mumbo’s eyes with another small giggle, “You haven’t said a thing since I got here and I’m still wondering who this mysterious ‘him’ is.” 

Mumbo suddenly jumped, “I- I got to go...redstone thing that needs- yeah, I gotta go.” He quickly spun around and tried to take off, only to remember that he had been a spoon and taken off his elytra when he had gotten there. Curse the fact that he found those stupid wings uncomfortable. However, this did not deter him, he instead rushed towards the ender chest only to feel a hand wrap around his wrist.

“Mumbo! Please talk to me! Whatever is going on I swear I can help!” Grains pleading voice pulling at Mumbo’s heart. “I don’t know what’s going on and the only way I can help is if you tell me, so please tell me whoever this guy is and what you need to tell him.”

Mumbo spun around and pulled his arm from Grian’s hand making the shorter man stumble a bit due to the force. “It’s you okay! I have a silly crush on you and I didn’t know what to do so I asked the stupid robot we made together!” He yelled out, gesturing to Grumbot and not thinking as the words spilled out of his mouth. He suddenly went still and drew in a sharp intake of breath as he waited for Grian’s response.

“Mumbo...I…” Grian began, his hands dropping to his sides as he looked up at him with wide eyes filled with confusion.

Mumbo then made a decision, instead of facing the rejection he turned around and ran towards the chest, grabbing his elytra and flying away as fast as he physically could. Tears began to fall as he realized that Grian hadn’t tried to stop him from leaving this time. 

Back on the platform, Grian still hadn’t moved from his spot where he stood with his mouth hanging open slightly and still staring at the place Mumbo had just been standing. “Oh goodness…” the words fell from his mouth with his breath. “Oh goodness, I let him leave...I let him leave!” Grian was brought back to the present and ran to the edge of the platform where Mumbo had flown away from, staring into the sky. “Mumbo...please come back...I like you too I just didn’t know how to say it!” His voice rising to a shout at the end as he began to mentally beat himself up. He had literally confessed and Grian had just stayed silent, allowing him to run off.

Grian screamed into the air, falling to his knees as he brought his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes, the same hands that had just been fixing Mumbo’s hair. He stopped, sitting back onto his heels and staring at his hands as he held them in front of himself. He felt his breath hitch, what was he going to do, he didn’t even know where Mumbo had run off to.

He sucked in a breath and pulled himself up from the floor, he knew he needed to find Mumbo. He began going through a list of possible locations that Mumbo could have possibly gone to. Shopping district? No, too close, and he flew off away from there. Iskall’s Omega Tree of Doom? They’d always been close...wait, how long had Mumbo actually liked Grian? Did Iskall know? If he didn’t that was definitely a no. The Hermit Challenges area? It was secluded and tucked away, but Grian still doubted it. Even his base, or the place he was using while he built his base, didn’t seem like the place he would go.

Then it struck him. Mumbo’s hobbit hole. The place that had literally connected them at the start of the season. He quickly took off as fast as he could, knowing the longer he waited the harder his chances were to convince the spoon.

Back in Mumbo's hobbit hole, the man in question was sat upon his bed, his jacket thrown against the wall and discarded on the floor as tears streamed down his face. His sobs filled the small room as his mind ran rampant. “Of course he wouldn’t like you, you dumb idiot, with your dumb moustache and always wearing that stupid suit. You had such a good friendship, how could you go and ruin it, now he’ll never want to talk to you again.” Mumbo thought to himself, not noticing the woosh of rockets as someone flew over his humble starter base.

When Grian touched down outside his own hobbit hole he stumbled because of how rushed he was. He ran over to his storage, slipping around the corner as he searched for a poppy in one of his chests, he had a plan and desperately hoped it would work, or that Mumbo was even in his starter base. Once he found the flower, what was it doing in the nether chest? Despite that, he took the flower over to the anvil and wrote on a small slip of paper attached to the stem.

I’m sorry, give me a chance to explain? -G

He then grabbed a chest minecart and a regular one, placing the flower in the chest and taking a shaky breath. He then sent the minecart out and hoped in his own to follow after it a second later. As the minecarts made their way down the path Grian felt his pulse begin to quicken as he imagined the scenarios, both good and bad, that may happen once he arrived at the end of the tunnel.

Mambo heard the familiar clunk of a new minecart hitting the pile, his breath hitching as his eyes slowly rose to the top of the pile. Keeping his eyes trained on the package he walked up to it and stopped with his back facing his portal. He then flipped open the chest to see a single red poppy with a card attached laying in the chest. He picked up the flower and read the note, his hand coming to his mouth as he read it over and over. He turned to look in the direction of Grian’s base only to see the man in question sitting on the edge of his portal. The tears started flowing as soon as their eyes met.

“Mumbo, pl-” Grian started.

“W-what are you doing here,” Mumbo said, voice horse from his sobs.

“I just want to explain myself, I swear,” Grian said in a quiet voice as he stood up and took a step towards Mumbo, only for the latter to take a step back. “Please Mumbo.” The pain in his voice evident as he desperately pleaded. Mumbo simply took a breath and nodded his head slowly, tear streaks reflecting in the light. 

Grian took in a deep breath, “What I was going to say before you left was that I,” he paused, shuffling his feet and scrunching his eyes closed as his cheeks turned red, “That I like you too, Mumbo.” Grian kept his eyes closed and clenched his jaw as he held his breath waiting for Mumbo’s reaction.

“Then why did you let me leave.” Came a quiet voice, breaking through the silence.

Grian quickly whipped his head towards Mumbo, mouth going agape as he thought through his next words. “I-I wanted to tell you, I just didn’t have the words. I was shocked because you liked me back Mumbo! I’ve had feelings for you since we started the Architechs, or ‘Buildstone’ or whatever we originally called it. I just never knew how to tell you because you were so important to m- Mphm!” In his rambling Grian hadn’t noticed Mumbo making his way over to him to cut him off with a kiss. 

Grian quickly leaned into the taller man, throwing his arms around his neck to pull him closer. Mumbo’s arms wrapped around his waist and did the same as he leaned down to the smaller man, the passion being felt between the two as their feelings were finally let out. They eventually pulled back, leaning their foreheads together as they breathed heavily. Grian looked up into Mumbo’s eyes as he brought his hand to the others cheek, wiping away the remaining tears that had stayed on his cheeks. Mumbo leaned into his hand and Grian let out a small giggle.

“I swear, your giggle is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.” Mumbo said in a quiet voice, only causing another one to escape Grian’s mouth. Mumbo then brought his hand up to Grian’s, leaning his head to press a light kiss into his palm. Soon giggles filled the room as Mumbo began to kiss all over Grian’s face, clearly wanting to have done this for a long time.

“Mumbo! Stoooop, it tickles! Your moustache!” Grian exclaimed as he tried to pull away from Mumbo’s grip, which had returned to his waist and was continuing to not let him go. Eventually Mumbo stopped his bombardment of the smaller man and returned to leaning their foreheads against each other as Grian’s giggles died down.

“I’m sorry for taking so long Mumbo, and I’m sorry for any tears I may have caused you, but I really do like you and have never been happier then how I am right now.” Grian said, smiling up at Mumbo, his words quiet and sincere.

“So does that mean you’ll be my boyfriend?” Mumbo asked, smiling down, knowing the answer but still wanting to hear it.

“Of course, you spoon!” Grian said through laughter, kissing Mumbo again through his smile, content and finally with the man he loved.

And as the warm sun finally set behind the robot over the water, the vibrant colours fading to darkness, a content beep could be heard as Grumbot felt that his creators had finally realized how they felt for each other, and his secondary mission was complete.

**Author's Note:**

> When I began writing this I had every intention of going back through it and editing it, but when it came out to be exactly 3300 words that idea was tossed out the window. However, if there are any major issues please comment below!


End file.
